November 23 becomes International Day to End Impunity

Members from around the world of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange met in
Beirut last week. On the second day of our conference, amid discussions of the daily
problems journalists face, we received word of the abduction and murder of Pakistani
investigative journalist Saleem
Shahzad. A day later, the conference buzzed with news of an arrest more
than five years after the murder of iconic Russian journalist Anna
Politkovskaya. As news unfolded in both cases, impunity--a recurring theme
in official meetings and hallway conversations--loudly made its way to the
forefront. And on June 2, IFEX members announced that they would join forces to
globally put an end to journalists' murders and impunity for their killers,
making November 23 the International Day to End Impunity.

The creation of the day was announced during the Beirut
launch of CPJ's 2011 special report on impunity around the world, "Getting
Away with Murder." November 23 marks the single deadliest attack on
journalists in history, when in 2009, 32 journalists and media workers were
executed in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao while on their way to
cover municipal elections. The Maguindanao
massacre, as it is known, has received international attention from human
rights advocates and the press. Yet, in the Philippines, the trial continues to
stall with continuous motions filed against the defense and prosecution,
alongside allegations of threats and bribery. In the meantime, the
administration of President Benigno Aquino has again asked the Philippines for
patience in the proceedings.

The International Day to End Impunity will shine a spotlight
on cases like the Maguindanao massacre, where impunity must not be allowed to win
out. It will allow for press freedom organizations to demand internationally
that more governments strengthen their investigation and prosecution procedures
to ensure that killers of journalists are not allowed to go free, silencing
critics like Shahzad and Politkovskaya. The annual day will also ensure that
journalists in countries where impunity is rampant feel that their work and
their lives are valued.

María Salazar-Ferro is CPJ’s Impunity Campaign and Journalist Assistance Program coordinator. A native of Bogotá, she studied at Universidad de los Andes, in Bogotá, and graduated from the University of Virginia. She reports on exiled and missing journalists, and has represented CPJ on missions to Mexico and the Philippines, among others.